This spring, White Sox starter Shane Smith knows he belongs

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Shane Smith, All-Star, has a different ring than Shane Smith, Rule 5 Draft pick.

That’s the difference between now and a year ago, when Smith was making his first appearance in a White Sox uniform during spring training and trying to prove he deserved a spot on the Opening Day roster.

On Monday, Smith made his first start of the spring — and it wasn’t pretty. He failed to finish the first inning after racking up 25 pitches to six batters in the Sox’ 5-4 loss to the Rockies.

Still, he knows exactly where he stands.

‘‘He understands that he’s a dude on this team,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘Last year, he came trying to prove he was a dude on this team. Going through that year, the expectations change for him now. But there’s the added obligation of being a leader on this club. Guys look at him and follow his lead. He’s somebody who is going to take that challenge on.’’

The challenge Monday for Smith, who hit two batters, walked one and allowed three runs (two earned) and two hits, was throwing strikes. After pitching a complete second inning, he recalled being bad in his first start last spring before impressing during the rest of camp.

Smith would go on to make 29 starts for the Sox and finished 7-8 with a 3.81 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 146⅓ innings. Posting a 2.37 ERA in his first 13 starts helped him build a case to become the lone All-Star representative on what would be a 102-loss team. He also became the second Rule 5 player, along with second baseman Dan Uggla in 2006, to make an All-Star team.

This spring feels different to him, knowing he doesn’t have to impress every time out to win a job.

‘‘It’s nerves, it’s mechanics, it’s moving at game speed for the first time in a while,’’ he said.

‘‘The pressure on yourself is different. Every day still matters, obviously. But it’s just what I want to work on today that’s going to set me up better for maybe five weeks from now, six weeks from now, rather than my next outing has to be perfect in order to do it.’’

Montgomery scratched

Shortstop Colson Montgomery was scratched because of illness, Venable said.

‘‘He went out there and got his workout in,’’ Venable said. ‘‘Just not feeling well. He’s out with an illness. He wanted to play. We thought at this time in the year [it was] just better to let him get hydrated and recover.’’

Will loves William

William Bergolla Jr., who made a flashy impression last spring before
batting .286/.342/.333 with no home runs and 40 stolen bases at Double-A Birmingham, had a start at shortstop fall into his lap.

‘‘I don’t know if I’m supposed to say this, but he’s one of our favorites,’’ Venable said. ‘‘He’s a guy last year that we were really excited to have him come over. It seemed like he made every single play, got big hits, great defensively and just has an incredible feel for the game. Really excited he’s in camp with us now.’’

Bergolla added weight and, perhaps, some power during the offseason.

‘‘That is something that’s going to be huge for him because he really does everything else really well,’’ Venable said. ‘‘Just has to add a little more pop in there. But he’s a fun one to watch.’’

ROCKIES 5, SOX 4

Zac Veen’s 468-foot walk-off home run against left-hander Shane Murphy handed the Sox (3-1) their first loss of the spring.

• Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, whose strikeout rate in each of his last three seasons overseas approached 30%, struck out his first two times up before notching a single and an opposite-field double as he prepares for the World Baseball Classic. He’s 4-for-10 with four strikeouts this spring.

• The Sox’ other big free-agent signee, closer Seranthony Dominguez, tossed a scoreless inning in his spring debut as he prepares to pitch for the Dominican Republic in the WBC.

• Andrew Benintendi doubled in his first two at-bats, including a 374-foot shot to the wall in right-center.

• On deck: Sox at Mariners, 2:10 p.m. Tuesday, Peoria, Anthony Kay vs. George Kirby.